Le Mans. The season opener of the 2026 FIM Endurance World Championship (FIM EWC) turned into an emotional rollercoaster for BMW Motorrad Motorsport. At the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans (FRA), the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team led comfortably with the #37 BMW M 1000 RR until the morning hours. However, technical issues in the final third of the race set the factory team back. Despite that, they secured important points with the lead at the crucial eight- and 16-hour marks and by ultimately finishing 12th in the EWC class. The best-placed BMW team was ERC Endurance #6 with an impressive fourth place, followed by BMW Motorrad Motorsport Official Team Japan, AutoRace Ube Racing, in fifth. An outstanding sixth place overall – and a dominant victory in the Superstock class – went to the #38 BMW M 1000 RR of Champion-HERT powered by MRP.
The factory trio on the #37 BMW M 1000 RR, Michael van der Mark (NED), Markus Reiterberger (GER), and Steven Odendaal (RSA), impressed in the two-part qualifying session, missing pole position by just 0.032 seconds. Starting from second on the grid, they entered the 24-hour marathon and everything ran perfectly for hour after hour. After eight and 16 hours, the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team collected bonus points for leading and headed into the new day comfortably at the front of the field. Then however, various technical problems arose, followed by a lengthy repair stop in the closing stages. The team was able to return to the track and take the chequered flag to secure more points. The BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team leaves Le Mans sixth in the world championship standings.
Starting from ninth place, ERC Endurance #6 steadily worked its way forward over the course of the 24 hours. In the end, Kenny Foray (FRA), David Checa (ESP), and new addition Marcel Schrötter (GER) celebrated an excellent fourth place overall. AutoRace Ube, with Sylvain Guintoli (FRA), Hannes Soomer (EST), and Naomichi Uramoto (JPN) aboard the #76 BMW M 1000 RR, was also in the mix among the top teams and secured fifth place.
In the Superstock class, the BMW M 1000 RR once again proved to be the bike to beat. In qualifying, the Japanese Team Étoile (#25) celebrated pole position, while Team Tecmas – Minerva Oil (#9) secured second on the grid. In the race, Champion-HERT Powered by MRP took control with the #38 BMW M 1000 RR. Balint Kovacs (HUN), Jan Bühn (GER), Loris Cresson (FRA), and Mate Szamado (HUN) not only celebrated a commanding Superstock victory but also caused a stir with sixth place overall.
The second round of the 2026 FIM EWC, the eight-hour race at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, will take place in early June.
Reactions after the Le Mans season opener:
Sven Blusch, Head of BMW Motorrad Motorsport: “Despite everything, we can be very proud of our performance at Le Mans. Of course, it wasn’t the ending we had hoped for. We had an extremely tough but very productive winter of preparation and were able to improve in every area – which I believe we demonstrated impressively up until hour 16. Our efficiency has increased. All three riders, Mickey, Markus and Steven, did a flawless job, and the pit stops worked very well. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough in the end. Nevertheless, we are all the more proud that we managed to get the bike across the finish line and score important points. We are also very proud of what our customer teams achieved. We secured fourth, fifth, and sixth places. ERC as the best BMW team showed an extremely strong race pace, with riders Kenny, David and Marcel in his 24-hour debut. The AutoRace Ube Racing Team also went straight into the top five in their first appearance – an absolutely top performance. There, we saw the potential that the very strong rider trio Naomichi, Sylvain, and Hannes can extract from the bike. We would like to thank James Bungo and Uwe Reinhardt for these performances. It is absolutely brilliant that, with Champion-HERT, we won the Superstock class by more than ten laps. Now, starting tomorrow, it’s time for hard work to begin preparations for Spa. The fight for the world championship continues there.”
Werner Daemen, Team Manager BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team: “The weekend started very well. We were the fastest in all the practice sessions. We had a perfect qualifying, even though we were 0.03 seconds behind YART. The start of the race was good. I think we had the best strategy in terms of fuel consumption, and we took no risks. Then, in the morning, we had a small technical issue. Because of that issue, Michael hit another rider and we crashed. Later, after the crash, we had a small oil leak. Then we had another technical issue. I can’t say what it is because we still have to investigate it in detail. But in the end, we still had a very good result as a team. Now it’s on to Spa, where I hope we can fight for the victory.”
Michael van der Mark, BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team: “It was fantastic, but with a bittersweet end. I was having an awesome time here, and the whole team was doing great. We had a outstanding bike, and Steven and Markus were really strong and consistent. Honestly, the team did a great job this winter. We scored a lot of points in the first eight hours and after 16 hours. Unfortunately, this morning we started to have some issues, and I had a small crash. After that, things just kept getting worse and worse. It’s a shame, but we showed how fast and consistent we are. In the end, we scored some points. I think this is why endurance racing can be one of the nicest races in the world, but also one of the most cruel.”
Markus Reiterberger, BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team: “The race itself was actually good. We had a great rhythm. All three riders were fast, and the fuel strategy was flawless. We were able to do many, many more laps than the competition and thus secured the eight- and 16-hour points. All the riders were in great form, and the team worked together perfectly. Unfortunately, then the issues started: a minor problem with the bike, which was fixed quickly, Michael’s crash, which caused some minor consequential damage, and in the end we had another issue. But we managed to bring it home to the finish and at least take the points with us. Of course, we are very disappointed because we really wanted to win Le Mans, and I believe we had what it takes this year. But we’re not giving up – we’re still in the fight. Many thanks to the whole team: they gave it their all and did a really great job, and I hope and believe they will be rewarded for it at some point.”
Steven Odendaal, BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team: “Overall, I think the team did a really good job. My teammates put in a big effort, and they performed really well. Coming back from an injury that I knew would make this race difficult to even finish – without giving my teammates extra work – was an achievement in itself. Unfortunately, the way it ended is really sad, but there’s nothing we can do about that. I think there are things to learn for the future, and we move on. We salvaged as many points as we could this weekend, and we’ll see what the next one brings.”
Facts and figures.
Qualifying (combined).
| Pos. | Team | Manufacturer | Pos. in class | Time |
| 1. | YART Yamaha Official EWC Team | Yamaha | 1. EWC | 1:34.335 |
| 2. | BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team | BMW | 2. EWC | 1:34.367 |
| 3. | AutoRace Ube Racing Team | BMW | 3. EWC | 1:34.633 |
| 4. | F.C.C. TSR Honda France | Honda | 4. EWC | 1:35.006 |
| 5. | Elf Marc VDS Racing Team/KM99 | Yamaha | 5. EWC | 1:35,030 |
| 9. | ERC Endurance #6 | BMW | 9. EWC | 1:36.648 |
| 10. | Team Étoile | BMW | 1. SST | 1:36.053 |
| 12. | LRP Poland | BMW | 11. EWC | 1:36.771 |
| 13. | Team Tecmas – Minerva Oil | BMW | 2. SST | 1:36.824 |
| 16. | Champion-HERT Powered by MRP | BMW | 4. SST | 1:37.182 |
| 39. | T2C Racing | BMW | 21. SST | 1:40.615 |
| 60. | Flying Buffs M3 Racing | BMW | 11. PRD | 1:46.186 |
Race.
| Pos. | Team | Manufacturer | Pos. in class | Gap |
| 1. | YART Yamaha Official EWC Team | Yamaha | 1. EWC | – |
| 2. | Yoshimura SERT Motul | Suzuki | 2. EWC | 5 laps |
| 3. | Kawasaki Webike Trickstar | Kawasaki | 3. EWC | 11 laps |
| 4. | ERC Endurance #6 | BMW | 4. EWC | 12 laps |
| 5. | AutoRace Ube Racing Team | BMW | 5. EWC | 12 laps |
| 6. | Champion-HERT Powered by MRP | BMW | 1. SST | 21 laps |
| 17. | LRP Poland | BMW | 10. EWC | 54 laps |
| 23. | BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team | BMW | 12. EWC | 72 laps |
| 25. | Team Étoile | BMW | 13. SST | 78 laps |
| 27. | Team Tecmas – Minerva Oil | BMW | 14. SST | 86 laps |
| 35. | T2C Racing | BMW | 16. SST | 136 laps |
| 36. | Flying Buffs M3 Racing | BMW | 6. PRD | 143 laps |
Current World Championship standings (R01/04).
| Pos. | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1. | YART Yamaha Official EWC Team | Yamaha | 63 |
| 2. | Yoshimura SERT Motul | Suzuki | 48 |
| 3. | Kawasaki Webike Trickstar | Kawasaki | 42 |
| 4. | AutoRace Ube Racing Team | BMW | 36 |
| 5. | ERC Endurance #6 | BMW | 35 |
| 6. | BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team | BMW | 33 |
| 11. | LRP Poland | BMW | 15 |
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